Nano-catalyst filter more effective against ETS

Scientists working in South Korea have developed equipment that can decompose elements of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) more effectively than can equipment based on more traditional technology, according to an Indo-Asian News Service story relayed by the TMA.

The new air-cleaning equipment, developed by Dr. Jongsoo Jurng and Dr. Gwi-Nam Bae of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, uses a filter coated with a manganese oxide-based nano-catalyst powder, which generates oxygen radicals.

The new equipment is said to be able to decompose elements of environmental tobacco smoke more effectively than can filters that use activated charcoal.

Operating in a 30 square-meter room where 10 people are smoking simultaneously, the new equipment is reported to be capable of purifying more than 80 percent of ETS within 30 minutes and 100 percent of it within an hour.

Activated charcoal-based filters did not remove materials such as acetaldehyde, the story said, and their performance decreased quickly in a closed area such as a smoking room; so they had to be replaced at least every other week.

The nano-catalyst filter was found to decompose more than 98 percent of harmful substances.

“If the new equipment can be simplified and is economically feasible, it will be an important tool for keeping smoking room pleasant and clean,” Jurng said.

There was no mention of whether the technology could be adapted for use in cigarette filters.